After the big 3-0 win against Antwerp, we gleaned reactions from Michał Skóraś, Nordin Jackers, Hans Vanaken and Nicky Hayen.
Michał Skóraś: "We understand very well what the coach expects from us."
Michał Skóraś thanked the coach for the confidence and scored the decisive 2-0 in this topper against Antwerp. Club eventually won smoothly 3-0 and can travel down to Greece with confidence.
"It was a good match from us today. Antwerp didn't get many chances. It's somewhat the same feeling as against PAOK, we had the chances to score and now we managed to score. So 3-0 and we are satisfied. Our mindset is good, we only think about winning. There are still a lot of games to come, in Greece it will be a difficult match. But we believe in ourselves. After a difficult period there was the change of coach, but we understand very well what he expects from us. Now we have to continue like this and above all believe in it to possibly still go for the title."
The Polish winger has been allowed to start several times now and is getting better every game. "Personally, I play with confidence, I get more playing minutes under Nicky Hayen and I try to give assists and goals to the team. For me, things are already running better. I'm just doing my job." (KN)
Nordin Jackers: "The confidence is back in the team"
Nordin Jackers had little work to do and saw Club back convincingly take the three points. Blue-Black is thus along in the lead.
"Today we showed that they have to take us into account. The way we played soccer and took the three points, that's very good. The confidence is back in the team, but we must not start floating. There is another important match on Thursday. But today we can enjoy this win, because tomorrow it's turn the knob and look ahead to PAOK. Today I didn't have much work and that's better for the team. I am especially happy that we took the three points and now we can build on this."
The supporters also have their share of home victories. "It is well known when Jan Breydel is on fire, that it can be haunted here. Today and the past few games this has helped us in our game. The supporters have given us so much, it's up to us to give something back. With such an atmosphere in a full stadium, that's what you became a footballer for. The connection between players and supporters is very good and they also realize that this drives us forward and is a help to us. We have put up a nice series and we have to continue to build on this. The soccer is good, but we can still evolve in that so it will get even better."
Nicky Hayen got the players moving in the same direction. "The new vibe is there, the noses are in the same direction and everyone has the same goal in mind. You also notice that on the field, the way we play soccer. We exude confidence and that is very positive. We keep looking match by match, it's nice that we win these matches. Especially in this way that we showed today. We are not yet in the phase of looking at others, just looking at our own. If we keep playing soccer like this, we can still get far." (KN)
Hans Vanaken: "We grabbed our moments"
Hans Vanaken played another strong game and was confident speaking to the press.
"This is an important three-point win, especially in view of tonight's match. It was also a good game from us, although in the first half we could put a little too little pressure. Fortunately, we did score at the ideal time. We grabbed our moments, which is the difference with the regular competition. Because of those midweek games, things are very busy at the moment. Therefore there are few opportunities to train well. It is mainly a matter of recuperating well and doing some tactical training here and there. But we handle it well and we seize our moments. That's how you win matches at the highest level." (SF)
Nicky Hayen: "We are starting to make other teams nervous"
Nicky Hayen was obviously very proud of his team's victory.
"We really struggled in the first half with their play. We knew what was going to happen, but we left certain spaces too big. We corrected that at halftime. The first half was decided with a stoppage time, but then in the second half we started to play a little bit closer to them which made them get less into their game. The second goal was well played out and the third goal was the icing on the cake, with a clean sheet on top of that. We played slightly less good soccer than in recent weeks, but after a tough midweek game, this is a nice result. When you see how the stadium is also ablaze again, you can only be satisfied."
Thanks to this victory, Club Brugge is also creeping a little closer to second place. "We are not concerned with that. We just keep working step by step. If you start thinking beyond the next game now, you're wrong. But we do feel that we are starting to make other teams nervous. So what has changed? You certainly shouldn't forget that Ronny Deila had already put a lot of work into this group. Not everything was bad, there were certainly things we could build on. We just tried to bring a little more clarity. You don't have to teach these guys how to play soccer. We tried to give them a bit of confidence and make it clear that they can also make mistakes. As long as the effort is there. They are now playing with the qualities they have. Not only the base players and the substitutes, but also the guys who fall outside the selection. We are one big family. Now the whole stadium has been behind us for weeks and that does a lot of good. That might be an important factor in the future." (SF)